Home Office

Prostitution: Arrests

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Williams of Trafford on 8 December (HL3801), whether they will now collect and make available information from local police authorities detailing statistics on arrests for (1) a common prostitute loitering in a street or public place, (2) a common prostitute soliciting in a street orpublic place, (3) a person persistently loitering, and (4) a person persistently soliciting for the purpose ofprostitution, broken down by (a) arresting police authority, and (b) the (i) gender, and (ii) ethnicity, of theperson arrested.

baroness williams of trafford: The Government has no current plans to provide further data other than that provided in the ‘Police Powers and Procedures, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin.As set out in the Government’s response to the Home Affairs Select Committee report on prostitution, we believe that a greater understanding of the prevalence and nature of prostitution in England and Wales is required prior to considering any changes to policy and legislation. This includes whether any further statistical data should be collected centrally.The Home Office has commissioned research to develop our understanding. Once the research is complete we will consider any future policy changes.

Radicalism

lord marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what legal powers they have to mandate persons to attend deradicalisation programmes; and what sanctions and penalties exist for those who refuse to do so.

baroness williams of trafford: People can be mandated to attend deradicalisation programmes if it is necessary and proportionate to do so through the use of licence conditions if they are terrorist offenders on probation licence; or through being subject to Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures (TPIMs); or through being subject to a Temporary Exclusion Order (TEO).Breaching probation licence conditions could lead to recall to prison; and breaching a TPIM or TEO condition could, on conviction, lead to a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Refugees

lord marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the average cost to public funds in the first year for a person who has been granted refugee status.

lord marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have estimated the cost to public funds, and the impact on the availability of medical care, housing and education, of passing the Refugee (Family Reunion) Bill.

baroness williams of trafford: Annex 6 of the Impact Assessment for the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Order 2016 gives an estimate of the cost to the public purse of different migrant categories. Table 14: Estimate of the typical public service costs associated with various migrants (2014/15) £ per head - Low case£ per head - Central case£ per head - High caseAll migrants5,3007,0008,800Non-EEA migrants5,4007,1008,900Migrant in last 10 years4,5006,3008,100Migrant in last 5 years4,3004,3004,300Non EEA - Those who came to work;5,3007,1008,800Non EEA - Those who came to study4,6006,4008,200Non EEA - Those who came for family reasons5,5007,2009,000Non EEA - Those who came as a dependant;5,4007,1008,900Non EEA - Those who came to seek asylum.5,7007,5009,200Source: HO calculations based upon ONS mid-year population estimates (2014), HM Treasury's Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA), (2015:Table 5.2), and the Annual Population Survey (Jan-Dec 2013). Rounding: nearest £100Under our existing family reunion policy, we have granted over 24,000 visas to nuclear family members of refugees in the last five years. We therefore believe that the impact of the Bill would increase the costs to the public purse significantly because it would widen the definition of a family member of a refugee and enable a large number of extended family members to qualify to come to the UK and have access to public services. The Government’s priority is to provide international protection to people who need it and extending the scope of family reunion to extended family members who may themselves not need international protection would not achieve that.

Proof of Identity

lord marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will consider the cost and method of introducing a secure national identity number, with electronic links to a centrally held register of biometric data, for all UK citizens.

baroness williams of trafford: In 2010 the Coalition Government decided to scrap the National Identity Register which would have used a National Identity Number to link individuals to a range of data items, including biometric data, that would have been collected and stored in a central database. This decision was taken because the National Identity Register was both expensive and represented a substantial erosion of civil liberties and this Government is not planning to revisit that decision.

Bijan Ebrahimi

baroness quin: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that lessons learned from the murder of Bijan Ebrahimi are acted upon by UK police forces.

baroness williams of trafford: The Government expects police forces to consider very seriously the findings and recommendations in the Safer Bristol Partnership’s December 2017 report into the murder of Bijan Ebrahimi in 2013.The Independent Police Complaints Commission also published a report in July 2017 on Avon and Somerset Constabulary’s contact with Mr Ebrahimi prior to his murder. Where the IPCC has investigated, reported and issued learning recommendations, the police and other agencies are required to respond setting out what action they are taking or to explain why no action is being taken.In its published response to the IPCC’s report, Avon and Somerset Constabulary set out the steps it had taken to improve the way it operates since 2013, including the design and implementation of a new operating model in 2014/15.Evidence gathered by the IPCC informed criminal proceedings which resulted in two officers receiving prison sentences. These officers and two others were dismissed following misconduct proceedings brought by Avon and Somerset Constabulary.Following publication of the Safer Bristol Partnership’s report, Avon and Somerset Constabulary has issued a statement fully accepting the findings of the report, and re-iterating the steps it has taken, following the IPCC’s report, to transform the way the Constabulary operates to prevent a repeat of what happened to Mr Ebrahimi.

Attorney General

Out-of-school Education: Prosecutions

lord warner: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Keen of Elie on 6 November (HL2408), whether there have been no prosecutions for operating unregistered schools because no cases have been put to the Crown Prosecution Service, or for evidential reasons.

lord keen of elie: The offences under sections 96 and 97 of the Education and Skills Act 2008 came into force, as they relate to independent schools, on 5 January 2015. Since that date two cases have been referred to the Crown Prosecution Service for early investigative advice following which investigations were discontinued. Two further cases have been referred to the Crown Prosecution Service for a charging decision. In both of these latter cases the evidential test under the Code for Crown Prosecutors was not met.

Department for Education

Science: Education

lord hunt of chesterton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that school science practical classes are funded to a level sufficient to (1) stimulate school pupils, and (2) meet the requirements set by the examination boards.

lord agnew of oulton: The government is committed to improving the quality of science education, including making sure pupils experience practical science. A number of programmes provide support to science teachers and technicians to improve science teaching, including support to deliver practical work. These programmes include the national network of ‘Science Learning Partnerships’, incorporating support for schools to improve the take up of GCSE triple science, and the ‘Stimulating Physics Network’. The latest provisional data on GCSE entries in England shows that 91.2% of pupils sat science GCSEs in 2017, up from 86.8% in 2016. There was also an increase in the number of A level entries in science subjects in England, with 2017 provisional data showing that there were 134,105 entries in physics, chemistry and biology A levels, up from 130,787 in 2016. We are introducing the national funding formula from 2018-19 so that, for the first time, school funding will be distributed according to a formula based on the individual needs and characteristics of every school in the country. This is supported by a significant extra investment of £1.3 billion across 2018-19 and 2019-20, over and above the budget announced at the 2015 spending review. Core funding for schools and high needs will rise from almost £41 billion in 2017-18 to £42.4 billion in 2018-19 and £43.5 billion in 2019-20. This will allow us to maintain school and high needs funding in real terms per pupil for the next two years. It is for schools to determine how much of their funding is spent on practical science.

Schools: Admissions

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the Schools that Work for Everyone consultation was concluded; when they intend to set out their response; and what assessment they have made of the 50 per cent cap on faith school admissions.

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many responses they received to their the Schools that Work for Everyone consultation; how many of these related to the 50 per cent cap on faith school admissions; how many of these were in favour of retaining the cap and how many were in favour of its removal.

lord agnew of oulton: The ‘Schools that work for everyone’ consultation closed on 6 December 2016. The responses to the consultation remain under consideration. The department plans to publish details of the responses and to respond on the proposal to remove the 50% cap on faith schools admissions in faith free schools in due course.

Social Services: Children

baroness bertin: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the estimate by the Local Government Association that there will be a £2billion funding gap in children’s social care by 2019–20.

lord agnew of oulton: Local authorities increased spending on children and young people’s services to £9.2 billion in 2016-17. The government provides funding annually for children’s services through the general, ‘Local Government Finance Settlement’ approved by Parliament. Children’s services funding is not ring-fenced within the wider settlement.The Local Government Association’s analysis is based on changes to elements of local government funding that can be spent on children’s services (including core council tax, locally retained business rates, the Revenue Support Grant and the Education Services Grant). It also includes a potential increase in demand for services arising from population trends and inflation.The government recognises the role that councils play in providing services such as children’s social care. Local authorities in England will have access to more than £200 billion to deliver these services between 2015-16 and 2019-20. This year’s finance settlement for local government will see a real term increase in resources available to councils, from £44.3 billion in 2017-18 to £45.6 billion in 2019-20. Local authorities will have two years of real term increases in resources.To help the children’s social care sector innovate and re-design service delivery to achieve higher quality and better value for money, the department has invested £200 million since 2014 in our ‘Innovation Programme’ and ‘Partners in Practice Programme’. As part of this, the department has committed £20 million to provide additional support to local authorities where the risk of service failure is highest.

Children: Disability

baroness bertin: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the 2011 report by Together for Disabled Children on the impact of short break programmes for disabled children.

lord agnew of oulton: The 2011 report by ‘Together for Disabled Children’ was published under the previous coalition government. The findings from the report, and response at the time, are publicly available and attached. In 2011, the findings of the report supported the introduction of a local authority duty to provide a range of short break services. Between April 2011 and March 2015, £800 million was made available via grants to support local authorities in meeting these new duties. In addition, £80 million of capital funding to support new projects. The government maintains that short breaks provide opportunities for disabled children and young people to have an enjoyable experience, which help them become more independent and form friendships outside their family. They give parents and carers time to do normal activities that other families take for granted, like doing the shopping or going for a run. Since 2011, under the statutory duty, local authorities are required to provide a range of short breaks services. This shows the available services and how they can be accessed, including any eligibility criteria. Local authorities must also demonstrate how they are responding to the needs of local carers. Local authorities must consider the needs of local parents and carers when preparing their statements, reviewing them on a regular basis, as well as monitoring the impact of funding decisions from year to year. While responsibility for funding short breaks rests with local authorities, the department has offered support to help ensure statutory requirements are met. We have funded innovative grants that promote best practice for delivering services and continue to consider how we can best support local authorities who are working to deliver sustainable short breaks provision. 



Findings from the 2011 report 
(PDF Document, 337.64 KB)

Ofsted: Security

lord warner: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to protect the Chief Inspector of Schools and her staff and offices in the light of threatened attacks following Ofsted's criticism of faith-based schools.

lord agnew of oulton: It is imperative that Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector and her staff feel able to carry out their responsibilities and report their findings without fear or favour. The Cabinet Office sets security policy for government, which all departments, including Ofsted, follow. Any concerns that Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector or her staff have regarding their personal safety or building security would in the first instance, be discussed with the police who would consider the nature of any threats, provide appropriate security advice and recommend any further measures.

Out-of-school Education

lord warner: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to strengthen Ofsted’s powers to prosecute and close illegal unregistered schools following comments by the Chief Inspector of Schools in her annual report that the current legislation is inadequate; and what guidance they will provide to local authorities regarding steps that can be taken against such schools using (1) health and safety provisions, and (2) child protection measures.

lord agnew of oulton: The department does not have primary legislation scheduled for this session, therefore the government has no current plans to change Ofsted’s powers in relation to the investigation of unregistered schools. In January 2016 we announced that we were providing funding to Ofsted to establish a dedicated team of specialist inspectors to investigate such settings. The figures published in Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector’s annual report shows that the work of this team has been highly successful, but the figures also demonstrate that there are far fewer unregistered schools than many had believed to be the case. During a period of one and a half years, from January 2016 to August 2017, the Ofsted team found 38 unregistered schools to be operating; and the team was successful in getting 34 of those 38 to cease operating illegally. The remaining 4 were still under investigation as at August 2017. The department, working with Ofsted and local authority Directors of Childrens Services, has been drawing up guidance for local authorities on how to tackle unregistered schools. We are expecting to be publishing this guidance in due course.

Ministry of Justice

Liverpool Prison

lord lee of trafford: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the last ministerial visit to HM Prison Liverpool took place.

lord keen of elie: There have been no ministerial visits to HMP Liverpool in the last year.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Leasehold Advisory Service

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people the leasehold advisory service has advised in the last two years.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: The number of people served by LEASE in 2016-17 and 2015-16 is as follows:  2016-172015-16 TotalTotal website Visits1,429,4461,166,6952,596,141Advice enquiry contacts by traditional channels, i.e. telephone, writing and in person*16,81920,84437,663Total enquiries23,67930,58854,267*This is actual customers. Total enquiries reflect total contacts i.e. a customer may come to us through more than one channel.

Emergencies: Planning

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have ascertained what proportion of local authorities from cities down to parish councils have agreed Disaster Emergency Plans; and if so, what is that proportion.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 requires local authorities, as category one responders, to take action in relation to emergencies. They are required to assess the risks to their local area, make plans to prevent an emergency occurring or to reduce, control or mitigate its effects. No central record is kept of the range of plans held by local authorities. The Department for Communities and Local Government provides help and support to local resilience fora, made up of the category one and two responders in a police area, where necessary, in developing their plans.

HM Treasury

Government Departments: Loans

lord morris of aberavon: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply byViscount Younger of Leckie on 13 December (HL Deb, cols 1552–4), whether any Government body, other than the Student Loans Company, provides loans on which interest is charged at six per cent or more per annum.

lord bates: The Government has issued many loans over the years and interest rates have varied considerably over time. Given this, details of all loans issued and the rates applied are not held centrally by HM Treasury.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Brexit: Public Consultation

baroness armstrong of hill top: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the University College London Constitution Unit report Citizens' Assembly on Brexit.

lord callanan: The Government notes the report published by University College London Constitution Unit Citizens' Assembly on Brexit. As the PM has stated on many occasions, the Government is committed to securing the best possible deal for the United Kingdom - a deal that works for all parts of the UK and UK economy. We are engaging on EU exit issues with a wide range of organisations from all sectors including academia, businesses and industry bodies, as well as the public, in order to inform our negotiations with the EU.

Brexit: Public Consultation

baroness armstrong of hill top: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to provide funding for citizens' assemblies on Brexit to consider the public's views on the nature of the UK's future relationship with the EU; and if not, why not.

lord callanan: Stakeholder engagement is a central element of our plan to build a national consensus around our negotiating position. Ministers from across Government have carried out extensive engagement on EU exit - with local authorities, businesses and industry bodies from all sectors of the economy and all regions of the UK, and with civil society groups including consumer bodies, trade unions, charities and academia. This dialogue will continue as the UK prepares to leave the EU.

Department for International Trade

Overseas Trade: Sudan

baroness suttie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Sudan's performance against the UN Guiding Principles on business and human rights (the Ruggie Principles); and what was the outcome of the trade conference with Sudan on 12 December.

baroness fairhead: The Government of Sudan is ultimately responsible for implementing the commitments contained in the UN Guiding Principles (UNGPs) on business and human rights, and the UN, as a body, is responsible for assessing this implementation. However, the UK Government stands ready to support Sudan in implementing their national action plan, having been the first country to produce an action plan and as a strong supporter of the UNGPs.The UK-Sudan Trade and Investment Forum was a private business venture. Her Majesty's Government did not provide financial or administrative support. Consequently, any requests for information on the outcomes of the Forum should best be directed to the organisers and participating parties.However, we expect that such fora will improve trade relations, helping to create growth and jobs, and raise standards of living. We will continue to support the Government of Sudan in making reforms for a more inclusive and prosperous Sudan.